Coupe Headliner Fabric Delamination

[XMetal]

Anyone have issue with their headliner fabric becoming unglued on their coupe? Just started noticing some fabric separation from the headliner on the corner of the sunvisor areas on both driver and passenger sides. My coupe is mostly garaged in a dry So Cal climate and I thought this would help slow the delamination process down, but I guessed this may be one of those environmental friendly glue that BMW is using that isn't holding up too well?

[Roadroach]

Had that happen to my '06 last fall. It started in a few spots but progressed rapidly over just a few weeks until over 1/2 of the material had separated. Pulled the ceiling panel out, stripped out the remaining fabric and the backing and replaced it all with microsuede (generic alcantara) headliner material.

That was a PITA to glue the new material back into place without getting nasty wrinkles in it.

BTW - I don't think it's the glue which is the problem. There's a thin foam layer between the fabric and the panel which, over time, deteriorates and turns to dust. I don't know if it's due just to age or if it's a heat cycle issue. Mine was mostly parked outside which I'm sure contributed to the headliner failure.

[WickedNy]

Used automotive fabric and upholstery cleaner fabric few years ago and instantly dissolved the glue that holds the headliner in place within 20 seconds

[jmilt13]

Happened to my 07 last year. Just got it back from upholstery shop with fresh material.

[belcom]

Normal on old cars. Bought a hard top from a guy who had it hanging in his garage close to the ceiling for like 12 years since it was new. The headliner was in absolutely terrible condition and was basically a dirty rag hanging.

Used that same suede type headliner material (its pretty cheap on ebay) as mentioned above, some 3M headliner glue (glue is very important), a couple of hours watching youtube to get the process down and make sure I don't f... up and its beautiful now. Still ended up with a couple wrinkles but its not in a very visible place so it doesn't matter.

Its not as easy as it first seems though. Don't be fooled because a pro on youtube does it and makes it look like piece of cake. Prepare properly. Pro's charge quite a bit for this job and its mostly labour. I spent about a $100 on materials vs a couple shops that quoted me $600-$700 CAD to do this.

[jmilt13]

I attempted it myself with the headliner adhesive spray. It turned out to be harder than it appeared and I had to tear off my attempt. It wasn't worth the time to fail a couple more times to master it...

[earlgrey69]

Happened to mine as well. Mine has always been garaged and my garage is shaded by trees so it never gets real hot in there. I definitly think it is just an age, heat and possibly humidity issue.

[earlgrey69]

I plan on having mine done in alcantara or the micro suede. Was also thinking about having the pillar covers done as well since they are the same headliner material. Has anyone else done this?

I want to keep mine as stock as possible but I have no choice with the headliner and I love the alcantara look so I figured why not. I didn't intend for my car to be a garage queen but it happened naturally due to life, kids, etc.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by earlgrey69

Happened to mine as well. Mine has always been garaged and my garage is shaded by trees so it never gets real hot in there. I definitly think it is just an age, heat and possibly humidity issue.

Originally Posted by earlgrey69

I plan on having mine done in alcantara or the micro suede. Was also thinking about having the pillar covers done as well since they are the same headliner material. Has anyone else done this?

I want to keep mine as stock as possible but I have no choice with the headliner and I love the alcantara look so I figured why not. I didn't intend for my car to be a garage queen but it happened naturally due to life, kids, etc.

I may be heading the same route in finding a upholstery shop and redoing it in alcantara or the micro suede. Now, finding a good upholstery shop is the next issue

[Roadroach]

Originally Posted by earlgrey69

Was also thinking about having the pillar covers done as well since they are the same headliner material. Has anyone else done this?

Yep - that's what I did. The A- and B-pillar covers are pretty simple compared to the ceiling panel and since everything is apart anyway, there's no real reason not to.